Helloo everyone!!!!
I am Amanda Hopkins and I am currently a senior in high school. I am beyond excited to share this next chapter of my life with y’all!! Missions is a huge calling in my life, but the idea of missions never became real until I got to experience it myself. I had heard bunches of stories about the amazing, life-changing impact a mission trip can have on one’s life, but I wanted to experience it for myself. I went to Guatemala with the missions organization “Identifiy” and had my mind completely blown. My heart was broken to pieces as Christ refocused my heart onto the lives of the people around me rather than myself. Christ showed me that the missions experience isn’t about all I can do for this community but about the work He can do through us. Coming home from Guatemala, I was excited to share about all Christ had done, and I couldn’t get the people or the place out of my mind. I ended up going back to Guatemala again this past year, and it was then that the Lord gave me clarity about the World Race. Sooo, after bunches of prayer and consideration, I have decided to take a gap year and go on The World Race September of 2017 – May of 2018.
“Here am I, Lord, send me” – Isaiah 6:8
The World Race is a 9 month long missions trip completely focused on loving and serving the community and the people around us all while sharing the gospel of Christ. Throughout the 9 months, the team and I will do many different forms of ministry such as working in orphanages, planting churches, teaching English, loving and ministering to victims of human trafficking, and genuinely sharing the gospel. On this journey, I will travel and live in Swaziland, Lesotho, India, Nepal, and Nicaragua.
I am all sorts of excited and nervous for everything that the Lord has in store for this next year. I will be leaving the comforts of home in America, my friends, and my family while living out of a backpack in the unknown.
Missions has been a calling on my life for a while, but this opportunity is beyond my wildest dreams, and I am confident in trusting that the Lord will provide. “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”- Luke 18:27. So please, please, please join me in praying bold prayers and watching God make this dream a reality.
In order for me to be able to serve the people in these five countries, I need to raise $15,000. This amount seems overwhelming, but each and every dollar is used towards ministering to and serving people around the world as the Lord has called us to do. I would love so incredibly much for each and every one of you to become a part of this journey by supporting me through prayer and/or financial support. So pretty please join me on this crazy adventure of watching the Lord’s plan unfold step by step.
Thank you so, so much for taking the time to read my blog and understand my heart behind this trip. It truly means so much!!
So much love,
Amanda
